Claus Valca
Claus Valca (クラウス・ヴァルカ) is one of the main characters of the Last Exile series. Personality & Character Claus is a easy-going person with the ambition to become a great vanship pilot. He is a man of his word with strong aesthetics to the vanship pilot code(s); once he accepts a mission he must see it through to the very end. It's because of his reputation as a young skilled and reliable pilot that allows him to fly on advanced missions. As a child, he was orphaned at a young age and was forced to grow up quickly to survive in city of Norkia. Although his father died on his mission as a vanship pilot, he followed in his father's footsteps and also wished to fulfill is his dad's unfulfilled mission: to cross the Grand Stream into Disith. Because his best friend and navi,Lavie Head, both lost their fathers in the Grand Stream, they both shared a similar ambition as well. Originally only aiming to become a highly skilled vanship pilot, Claus's world was affected during the Anatoray-Disith War. Claus had recovered Alvis from a dying vanship pilot, Ralph Wednesday. After promising to help deliver Alvis to the Silvana, they were pursued by the Guild because of Al. After being rescued by Alex Row, but not trusting their intentions with Al, both he and Lavie ended up staying on the Silvana to look after her. It was from there his perspective on life changed and eventually got involved in the war. After fulfilling his life-long dream with Lavie, there was nothing of value for them to remain in Prester and he and his family (Lavie, Al, and Holly) decided to immigrate to Earth to start a new life. However, the Guilds on Earth was also after Al and it angered Claus to know that the Guild would consider humanity merely as breeders and their attempts to kidnap Al (who he considers a family member). Through that end, he resolved to protect Al from her pursuers once again. Skills & Abilities Claus is considered one of the best vanship pilots in both Prester and Earth. Although young, he has enough flight and combat experience to take on a Guild starfish and any battleship of the Anatoray-Disith armada. He's most skilled in sharp turns and evasive maneuvers, earning the nickname "Immelmann" from Dio, a famous flight maneuver. Apperance He has light brown hair and his eyes has the same color as his hair also. He is also tall. He is seen to wear a dark brown pilot uniform but his gloves are much more darker brown that what he wears. History Beginnings , Lavie Head, Claus Valca, Justina Valca, Hamilcar Valca]] At the age of one, Claus's father (an eccentric nobleman who loved flight), moved with his wife and Claus to the city of Norkia from the Imperial Capital. They moved next door to the Georges Head and his daughter Lavie Head. Hamilcar and George became a vanship duo (Hamilcar as the pilot, and George as the navigator) and made income through their missions. Through their fathers, both Claus and Lavie would learn the ways of piloting and navigation and learn their appreciation for flight in the skies. Life on the estate was calm, but money was tight. Although born from nobility, Claus's family never considered themselves better than commoners and they made enough with work to get by. Claus would often pitch help around the house chores, but to make things interesting, his dad would often do role plays and suggest the tasks are 1-star "missions" to motivate him. Because Lavie is tomboyish by nature, she would rather do the things Claus does. On Lavie's birthday, the Valca family celebrated with the Head family with a outdoor BBQ. The Head family brought in 3rd-rate water to celebrate this special day. Lavie and Claus worked on making sandwiches while the adults roast the meats. It was one of the most memorable moments in time before tragedy struck Claus. One day, Claus's and Lavie's fathers departed on a ten-star mission, to cross the Grand Stream to give a message of peace with the Disith, from which neither of them ever returned. This news was brought to them by the only survivor of the mission and it devastated Claus's mother. Lavie is orphaned, but was taken in and stayed with the Valca family (Claus' family). To honor their fathers, they created empty graves for them as a place to honor their deaths. Unfortunately, tragedy would strike again as Justina Valca (Claus's mother) died from stress and exhaustion 6 months later, orphaning Claus also. She was buried under the same resting place as the empty grave of the duo's fathers. After her death, he makes the resolution with Lavie to one day cross the Grand Stream together like thier fathers. Although orphaned, the duo had their parents' estates and lived their quietly for a time. Using all they learned from their fathers, the two spend their days attempting to master vanship piloting and navigation. After many trials and error, the duo eventually mastered their fathers' roles and Claus was eager to enter the Grand Stream. Unfortunately, their plans were stalled due to financial problems. Without any adults helping them, Claus didn't know the family owed money to merchant(s) over their vanship. Choosing to save their vanship over their parents' homes, they liquidated their assets to continue the dream of crossing the Grand Stream. To survive in Norkia, they quickly became one of the youngest duos to join the Vanship Union to survive as couriers. With the help of friends, the two found a open spot above a canal line and built themselves a small shack-like wooden house and continued on as couriers until they can succeed in their ambitions. Preparing the Norkia Cup & 3-Star Mission Several years have passed, Claus is 15 years old and continues to live in the small shack-like home he and Lavie made a life out of. Both Claus and Lavie continues to work on their dream to fly to the Grand Stream one day, but currently aiming to be greater vanship pilots first. Recently, the Norkia Cup was announced and they intend to compete in the race. One morning, Claus was drilling holes into their vanship. The Norkia Cup was going to start very soon and the preliminary "Time Attack" (rank placement in the race) will start later in the day. While Claus is working on vanship weight reduction, he can hear Lavie venting her frustration while making a breakfast sandwich. She's upset because the Disith invasion has inflated engine prices to double and the duo needed a booster system to insure victory in the race; with such unreasonable prices, they are at a disadvantage. With breakfast ready, Lavie checked with Claus about the weight reduction and he mentions that 30 ounces was taken off; he estimates about 40 ounces after finishing on the ship. To avoid further weight issues, the two agreed to skip breakfast to fly lighter. As the two were thinking about the race, the bell had rang to alarm all freelance pilots of available work. With Lavie's strong enthusiasm to find profitable work for the booster, the two took off and hurriedly flew to the canyon. Ultimately, Lavie decided to take a 3-star mission: delivering a message to David Mad-thane at Minagith from the Mad-thane household. However, Claus was worried because 3-stars entails danger, but Lavie took the mission and Claus went with it. At the Mad-thane family estate, both Claus and Lavie looked at wonder at the Mad-thane's water fountain. It was flowing with such clean water and Lavie wondered was it drinkable without boiling it. Claus took initiative and told her not to worry by drinking it first, it was good. Lavie tried to get some of the water, but she bumped into the household butler and they showed they're from the Vanship Union, ready to deliver a message to David Mad-thane; they were sent to see Lady Mad-thane Lady Mad-thane was surprised that the couriers were so young and opposed giving them the job as it was deemed too dangerous. However, Lavie argued that they have exceptional records, proving they're no ordinary teens. Lavie gave the butler their flight record and he confirmed, not even an adult could maintain such a record. Lavie then appealed to Lady Mad-thane, reasoning if they were denied, it would cost an entire day to resubmit their request and have her message delivered. With that, Lady Mad-thane agreed and gave them both money and the letter, specificying that David should be the only person to read it. As they accepted their mission, Lady Mad-thane's daughter, Holly Mad-thane clumsily appeared and requested Claus to help her deliver a letter to him as well and the two happily accepted. At the skies of Minagith, the duo found the Claimh Solais (the ship that David Mad-thane commands) and requested permission to land. After given permission, Claus performed a clean side-swipe landing, a move that impressed an adult vanship pilot within the hanger. After introducing themselves, the duo was escorted to see Commander Mad-thane. While heading to the bridge, Lavie wondered did Anatoray win and the escorting soldier confirmed with confidence they did. Unfortunately, the victory was short-lived. An unregistered Disith battlefleet had arrived and began firing at Anatoray fleet. At the bridge, both Claus and Lavie were confused at what's happening as they thought they were winning. It was moments ago that a unsanctioned group of Disith capital ships fired several volleys and hit the Claimh Solais. While a shell hit near the bridge, it wasn't a direct hit, but the shock was enough to knock several of the crew, including the duo down to the floor. After Claus recovered, he checked on Lavie's condition and she confirmed she was fine. Claus then checked on their message tube and found it safely undamaged on the floor. Lavie then tried to convince the nearby soldier to help them deliver the message to Commander Mad-thane, but they couldn't pass. Claus pulled Lavie behind, stating it was important to deliver the message personally to Mad-thane; the executive officer (XO) felt their presence was a nuisance and had them sent back. At the vanship hanger, the two found reasons to believe their mission was a success. However, the fact there wasn't even a signature to prove their completion was an upset to Claus; Lavie explained it couldn't be helped as they were kicked out. Claus didn't feel any better about the matter and Lavie thought if they kept a small piece of the Claimh Solais, it would be physical proof they boarded the ship and delivered their message. However, their mission wasn't entirely completed. When Lavie tried to pull out a metal plate from the hanger, the message tube from Holly came out. It was then they realized they forgot to deliver Holly's letter. Since they were kicked out, they couldn't return to the bridge. To remedy that issue, Claus and Lavie tapped into the ship's communication systems and began reading the message out loud. Unfortunately, the XO wasn't amused and demanded the pilots to be arrested. To complete the letter as quickly as possible, Claus held in the hanger entrance doorway to delay the soldiers as long as possible before they could reach them. However, Claus delayed barely a minute before the soldiers restrained them and held them at gunpoint. However, they received unexpected assistance from a sympathetic musketeer, Mullin Shetland. He held a fellow officer hostage to help finish reading the letter. The XO loudly commented with anger on the speaker that neither a child nor a commoner could understand the meaning of chivalry, especially vanship pilots. Claus tried to explain they do understand, but Lavie was angered by the XO's comments and retorted, "Have you ever had a day where you couldn't sleep because you were too hungry!? As far as I'm concerned, your chivalry stinks!" The head officer that was held hostage was angered at Lavie's words and insisted they shoot the duo, regardless if Mullin would shoot him or not. There was about to be a bloody shoot out when Commander Mad-thane intervened. Mad-thane demanded no soldier would point their weapons at each other as they still just begun their battle against the Disith. He then acknowledged delivery of the two was completed and requested the two to reply a message for him: to tell his daughter he'll be coming home. Ask they prepared to fly off, Mad-thane asked for their price for such a job and they asked his safe return. As the two aimed to fly back to the Mad-thane estate, Claus saw how the Disith is chasing the retreating Anatoray battle-fleet. Seeing such unfair conditions, he tried to flying around the Guild ship while Lavie tried to request their intervention. Unfortunately, they didn't listen and Claus decided to stall the Disith ships by interfering himself. With such limited smoke, it wasn't enough to blind the Disith ships. As Claus was prepared to charge through the nearby Disith ship, a red vanship appeared and told them to follow their lead. The red vanship (Tatiana Wisla's vanship) dropped two bombs and destroyed the ship. Just after that, the Silvana appeared in the combat zone and threw the Disith fleet into disarray. The two flew to a safe distance to observe the chaos and was happy to see the Anatoray fleet had successfully retreated home. Back at the Mad-thane estate, Claus happily told Holly that his father is well and will return soon. Although the mission was a grand success, their race results suffered for it. Because they were too preoccupied to enter the "time attack" preliminaries, they were rated last in the race. However, they savored the day by drinking some of the water they acquired from the Mad-thane fountain. Day of the Norkia Cup & 7-Star Mission Transfer On the morning of the Cup, Claus had been sleeping next to his vanship. He was soundly asleep until Lavie made him get up and stuffed his mouth with a breakfast sandwich. Although tired, his eyes opened wide with surprised as their vanship attained the booster accelerator they wanted. Still with the sandwich in his mouth, he asked (through the sandwich) how did Lavie do it and she explained she got it from the parts dealer in the middle of the night. With the booster, Lavie was confident that their ambitions to win the race is no longer a dream. At the race, the vanship pilots began taking their positions. As Claus prepared for the race, several vanship pilots (familiars of the duo) flew by and mocked the two. Sunny Boy arrived to mock how the two made it on time without falling asleep, but Lavie retorts she can see his nose hairs (a sensitive subject to Sunny Boy). Then Fat Chicken had arrived and mocked the two for being suited with children cheering for children; Lavie angered him by mocking his weight. Hurricane Hawk arrived and also mocked the duo for not finishing the race last time. However, Claus was focused on the race. With the waving of the flag, the Claus raced throughout the streets-turned-racetrack of Norkia City. To minimize speed reduction during turns, Claus made sharp turns and utilized the walls of the buildings to help him stay on track without slowing down. After the duo reached 4th place, their next hurdle was to bypass Fat Chicken, but he intentionally flew in a waving pattern to prevent Claus from cutting through him. Flying through the sewage tunnels, Claus made a daring move by flying their ship temporarily underwater to rise right under Fat Chicken and succeeded. Tailing the 2nd place racer, Sunny Boy, the two moved passed him easily as his booster was damaged when bumping into Claus's vanship; their real challenge was Hurricane Hawk. The two caught-up with Hurricane Hawk at the canyon. With Claus's piloting skills, he bypassed Hurricane Hawk with a barrel roll and prepared the use the booster to win the race. Unfortunately, the timing couldn't be any worse as a unidentified and heavily damaged vanship appeared before them. Although unexpected, Claus used his skills to avert crashing into the vanship, but the damaged vanship crash-landed into the forest. Even though first place, Claus couldn't let a downed vanship go unaided and gave up on the race. On the ground, the two looked for the downed vanship they encountered earlier. After landing near the open river, the two found a heavily injured vanship pilot. When Lavie tried to check on the navi, the pilot said the person is already dead. He then introduced himself, Ralph Wednesday, the dead passenger, Guita, and Al. He asked Claus to accept transfer of his mission as he's dying. Claus was surprised to see it was a 7-star mission, but Ralph pleaded with Claus and with Lavie's blessing, he formally accepted the transfer. To the duo's surprise, Ralph's cargo is Al. Just then, the Guild starfish that pursued him earlier is heard nearby. Ralph volunteered to act as a decoy for the duo to escape with Al, but also warned them to never activate their engines as it has the ability to detect Claudia engines. Before leaving, Ralph asked Claus to take his vanship figurehead and the two ran back to their vanship. The duo then escaped by pushing their vanshp into the river and floated their way across the river to avoid detection. As the two floated down, they heard an explosion (Ralph self-destructed his vanship along with himself to stop the starfish from chasing the duo) and even though Ralph died, Claus actually believed he's still alive. While flowing down the river, Claus began reviewing the contents of his mission with Lavie. According to the letter, they're to deliver Al under the custody of Alex Row, captain of the Silvana. Lavie flatly refused as both the captain and his ship is one of the most infamous ships across the skies, filled with great supernatural mysteries. However, Claus was firm about finishing this very important mission. Hiding From The Guild & Delivering Al Back at home, Al was placed in Lavie's room to rest while the two make plans to intercept Alex Row. While Lavie tried to make some quick repairs and maintenance over their vanship, Claus made plans traveling across the sewage tunnels to safely make it to the rendezvous point. Watching Alvis & Staying On The Silvana Rough Treatment & Silvana Vs Guild Night at The Casino Royale Race at Horizon Cave & Meeting Dio Silvana Vs Urbanus Battle-fleet Crash & Survival with Tatiana Return to Silvana & Lavie's Feelings Shortly after Alis and Dio rescued Claus and Tatiana, Claus quickly told Lavie at the hanger that Norkia had fallen to Disith control. However, unknown to Claus, Lavie was actually emotionally compromised due to something entirely different: a suggestive romantic relationship between him and Tatiana. Claus never knew about Lavie's romantic feelings and he was perplexed as to what she had hidden herself within her quarters. He tried to coax her out of her room by suggesting they work together on repairing their fathers' damaged vanship, but she couldn't do it and Claus went off with Al to work on repairs alone and give her time. Not long as well, the Silvana was air-worthy again and ship had lifted off. Several hours later, while working on their vanship, Lavie had the strength to come out and help with Claus on their vanship. While repairing the vanship together, Claus picked the worst topic he could mention: Tatiana. He told Lavie that Tatiana is a misunderstood person and that she's not bad; he had hoped Lavie and Tatiana to be friends, but Lavie's feelings for Claus overwhelmed her and she started to cry. Completely unaware what was going on, Lavie merely apologized and ran off, leaving Claus confused again. Unexpected Revelations & Vulnerable Emotions After Lavie ran off, Al when to check on her. Moments later, Dio appeared to talk to Claus. He had mentioned he and Tatiana had been the highlight of the crew's chatter and he's bored because Claus dosesn't play with him; Dio reminded Claus he is his minder and Claus merely acknowledge his unusual mention. Dio then flashed a familiar picture, a picture of little Claus, Lavie, with their fathers as well as the vanship couple on the right side. Claus was angered, believing Dio had went to Norkia and taken this photo out of his home. Claus demanded to know the state of things in Norkia, however, Dio corrected him and said he found it in the captain's quarters. Shocked to know the captain would have a picture of his family, he stormed right into the bridge and demanded answers from Alex as he gave commands to find Delphine Eraclea. After giving out his commands, instead of punishing or yelling at him, they had a private chat in his quarters. Inside the captain's quarters (while the vanships were deployed for advanced scouting), Claus demanded to know why Alex had a picture of his family. Alex warned him about is readiness in accepting the truth, no matter what it may be and Claus felt getting answers would be better than to live with unanswered questions. With that, Alex began unraveling the past and learn the final details of his father's fate. Alex first explained that the vanship he believed to belong to his father is actually his. On the day he learned about his father's failed mission through the Grand Stream, it was Alex (the only survivor of the incident), that broke the news to him. It was then Claus realized the guy on the right side of the picture was actually Alex. Alex admitted that he was a coward; he ran away from the Grand Stream and even left behind the most important person to him, Euris Bassianus, his significant other. Claus then wondered if Alex saw the final moments of his father's death and he confirmed it as a sight he'll never forget. Alex explained their vanships were thrown out of control because of Delphine Eraclea. Her ship passed by and whipped them away, causing Hamilcar Valcailcar Valca]]'s vanship to lose control and crash onto Exile and Alex losing Euris. Claus asked if the reason why the Silvana's fight against the Guild had been about revenge. Alex explained that Delphine's death and the defeat of the Guild won't mean a thing if the world doesn't change; Claus wondered about that change and Alex explained that only having possession of Exile would change humanity. The mention of Exile peaked Claus's strong curiosity and wanted to know more about it. Alex explained that Exile is the backbone of the Guild's authority over Prester; it's a power than can destroy the world. Claus asked what would Alex do with such power and Alex said he would destroy it. Claus wondered if it was the reason why Alex fly the skies, but Alex no longer answered. He explained he now knows everything and he's free to go if he doesn't believe in his goals. Ultimately, Claus decided to remain on board the Silvana. Claus then headed to the hanger to work on his vanship. While heading to the hanger, he saw Sophia without her glasses and her hair down and was curious over downed facial expression, but headed to repair his vanship. After some tuning, he headed to the observation deck and found Sophia again. He commented how nice was her perfume and Sophia thanked him, saying she tried some on for a change of pace. He wanted to ask about her face when passing by earlier, but she changed the subject by suggesting a chat. Sitting next to a rail with Sophia, Claus wondered why Alex does the thing he does. Alex knew who Claus was and didn't say anything and he idled when he and Lavie suffered in the battlefield; Claus thinks he's no different than the murderous Guild. Sophia defended Alex, saying he had his own pains, but Claus doesn't see it that way because he revealed nothing until he shoved the proof in front of him. Claus felt Alex was going to keep the secrets forever if he didn't confront him over it, something Claus finds unforgivable; Sophia thought it was interesting that Claus would remain to stay in spite of things. Sophia said got an idea what sort of man Hamilcar Valca was when observing Claus. She also remarked that Alex had great respect for Hamilcar. Claus then wondered why Sophia remains on Silvia as well (because she's in love with Alex and wants to stay at his side), but she couldn't answer and Claus apologized for asking a sensitive subject. However, Sophia was okay with it and was surprised at herself for being so weak, but Claus feels Sophia is a strong person. Grateful for Claus's kind words, she surprised Claus by giving him a loving kiss. The following day, Claus was playing chess with Dio, but even he could tell, his mind wasn't on the game. He then wandered throughout the ship to find Sophia, but the mechanics at the hanger told him "her royal highness" already left. It was then the crew revealed the XO is also the princess of Anatoray. They also revealed she was originally planted on board the Silvana to observe Alex, but she fell in love with him at first sight. Shocked with such a revelation, he walked off with everyone confused over his reaction. While walking through the corridor, Alvis found him and wondered what he was doing last night. Blushing and embarrassed to mention his time with Sophia, he continued to walk until he walked go her quarters. Unfortunately, the door no longer had her tag, it was ripped; it suggests she'll never return. Thinking over her eyes and the wind through her hair, he missed her and wanted to knock on her door to see if she's there. However, he realized Alex should've had her stay. He stormed into his quarters and wanted to know why didn't he have her stay, but he reasoned Claus doesn't know what he's talking about. Later at the rec-room, Claus was thinking to himself when Tatiana came by to drop off the clothes he loaned to her previously. She then warned Claus should leave with Lavie soon as they soon will face the Guild. Wondering about Tatiana's intentions, she told Claus that the Silvana is her home, she'll stay and fight. As night fell, Claus found Lavie still working on their vanship. Claus suggested Lavie to leave the Silvana because of the impending dangers. Lavie wanted Claus to leave with her, but he intends to stay to continue his observations of the skies through Silvana. It was also that moment that Claus revealed to Lavie that the vanship isn't their fathers', but really Alex's. After telling her the whole story, Lavie resolved that even if it's not their fathers' vanship, it's theirs now. She then reflected and reminded Claus of his focus and drive to travel to the Grand Stream, however, as of late, he's been indecisive about things and it's a unlikable trait to her. Moving to Earth & Return of the Guild Note: The following is a recount of Claus through the manga series: Last Exile - Travelers from the Hourglass After the development of the Anatoray-Disith Kingdom and things settled with the Guild, a portion of humanity decided to return to Earth. Claus, Lavie, Alvis, Mullin, and Dunya decided to leave Prester and return to their native planet. After the Exile dropped off its immigrants, the group found their own territory and settled in. In a undisclosed area, Claus, Lavie, and Alvis built a new home and worked as farmers to survive in their new life. Claus recently planted wheat for food, but there was concern the crops might not yield well due to Earth’s soil over Prester’s. While enjoying the peaceful time with Lavie, Claus and everyone was stunned to discover a Guild Starfish had targeted Alivis once again. Alvis was learning the basics of vanship flight controls with Holly when the starfish appeared and grabbed the entire vanship to take Alvis away. Using a second vanship, Claus and Lavie chased down the starfish to save Alvis. When they reached to them, Claus fired a grappling hook to the hull of Alvis’s vanship. While holding on, Claus instructed Alvis to use the air-brakes on his que, but she was scared as she never piloted a vanship before. With some encouragement, Alvis used Claus’s confidence as bravery and calmed down; the starfish began to fire at Claus, but he managed to evade all enemy fire. With Claus’s que, Alvis slammed the breaks and caused the starfish to close control. The two vanships manage to damage the starfish with a tree trunk and caused it to crash and explode on the ground. Safe from danger, Claus tethered his vanship to Alvis’s to take them home. Back on the ground, Claus complimented on Alvis’s abilities on her first attempt in piloting a vanship. As the group walked back home, Alvis wondered was it was Claus’s ingenious plan from the beginning to take down the starfish with a tree trunk, but Lavie dismissed it as Claus merely winging it. The idolizing ladies were shocked to find their rescue was completely improvised. After the incident, Claus, Lavie, Al, and Holly went to the battlecruiser that Tatiana and Alister (this was before the two was assigned to the Silvius) was assigned to. In attempt to learn more about the Guild’s intentions, they left Al and Holly under the protection of the ship to fly in the starfish’s last known direction in hopes to learn more of their intentions. However, Al didn’t want to be left alone and wanted to join the duo, but Claus convinced Al to stay behind. Tatiana and Alister had planned to join the two, but due to assignment issues, a replacement escort was dispatched to cover Claus and Lavie as they attempt to learn more about the Guild’s intentions. Not long into their investigation, their escort was quickly shot down by another Guild starfish and it grabbed Claus’s vanship. The starfish forced Claus’s vanship to crash, but they weren’t harmed. The starfish pilot revealed himself to confront Claus and began to speak: “''People of Prester, I welcome you to the homeworld. Ideally, you should have been led here by my colleagues...However, I shall not inquire as to whether or not that is indeed the case. That is because the fault of not managing you properly falls partially on them as well. I have...two commands for you. We shall provide full assistance to all returning refugees. In exchange, you will place yourselves under our leadership. That is number one. On this world, with a different and climate and ecosystem than you are used to, there is but one sole means for your “species” to continue to breed and thrive. That is to subject yourselves to our control. This is for your protection. Secondly, you are to relinquish the maiden of the exile to us.” During the entire rhetoric, Claus got angrier and angrier as the Guild pilot referred to them as something to be controlled and relieving Al to the Guild. He had enough and scolded the pilot that they’re free people and also refused to let go of Al. In response, the pilot used his footing to kick off parts of the vanship’s hull to Claus’s face. Lavie tried to shoot the pilot, but his reflexive speed grabbed and threw Lavie out of the ship before she could fire. Just as the pilot was about to grab Al, the might of the Anatoray-Disith battle-fleet arrived to save them and the pilot retreated. After getting patched up, Claus and the family returned home. Claus had his head bandaged after the scuffle with the Guild pilot. As the night winds down, Claus wondered about Al’s condition as she suffered severe anxiety to sleep. Lavie then reflected if the Anatoray-Disith battle-fleet hadn’t come, they would be in trouble. She also reflected on the strength of the pilot; Claus agreed and also realized she’s being hunted down by the Guild once more. Unknown to them, Al developed a deeper seated fear of the Guild over recent events. Dinner at Tatiana’s Some time later, Claus was invited to Tatiana’s home for dinner. Apparently, Tatiana’s uncle, Henrick Wisla, also wanted to take a good look at the man Tatiana was so fond of. From the moment Henrick opened the door to “greet” Claus, it was filled with mysterious angst as Henrick “invited” Claus inside for a "chat". At the dinner table, it was a strong air of tension as Tatiana waited for his uncle to react and Alister ecstatically observed every moment of the situation. Henrick started by introducing himself as Henrick Wisla, uncle and guardian to Tatiana. Herick wasted little time and went to the point: he accused Claus of getting close to Tatiana to rise his status with the Wisla’s court rank. Tatiana was quick to defend Claus as he’s confused about the entire situation. Feeling uncomfortable with the situation, Claus used the excuse of his concern over Al and excused himself to leave, but Henrick grabbed and pulled him in, accusing him of getting too friendly by calling him “uncle.” However, that was Henrick’s delusion as Claus tried to explain he didn’t say anything of the sort. To further confuse Claus (because he never knew Tatiana had feelings for him and their relationship only platonic), Henrick loudly proclaimed that Claus will never have his niece. However, Henrick finally changed his tune when he realized who Claus really was. Throughout this time, Henrick couldn’t figure out the relevance of the name, Claus. It was at that very moment he was yelling at Claus that he realize who he really was: the famed vanship pilot and his exploits on board the Silvana and a trusted confidant of the empress. After truly understanding who Claus was, his biggest fears about Claus “attempting” to gain rank in the Winsla family changed as he realized he could do the same through him. Suddenly, Henrick released Claus and completely changed his tune. Henrick politely offered him wine and used the honorific dono (lord) when calling his name. Claus was still shocked as the sudden shift in attitude and still perplexed as to what is happening; he suggested to leave, but Henrick begged and groveled for Claus to stay and eat. Claus was nice about the whole matter and agreed to eat, but no drinking. Several drinks later (due to Henrick) Claus’s face was drunken red-flushed. Tatiana gave Claus some water and apologized for her uncle, explaining he’s a man that takes some getting used to. Claus was nice about the matter and said he was okay with it. He then thanked Tatiana for the food, he thought it was delicious. Tatiana gave most of the credit to Alis (unknown to him, Tatiana was the one who cooked everything for Claus). He then got up to bid farewell, but the wine overwhelmed him and he fell right into Tatiana. To keep him from falling, she held him as he rested in her arms and his head over her shoulders. Unknown to Claus, the Guild had returned for Al again. Relationships Family ;Hamilcar Valca Claus's father, he's the greatest inspiration to Claus as a child. ;Justina Valca Claus's mother, she was the housewife that tended the land while Hamilcar performed his vanship missions to make income. After her husband's death, she continued to work and took in Lavie, but her health failed and eventually died of illness. With her gone, Claus and Lavie were orphaned, but they survived on their own. Adopted Family ;Lavie Head Navigator and best friend to Claus, they both lost their fathers to the Grand Stream, but also inherited their will to also cross it one day. Although their personalities are different, they always thought alike and understood each other in a personal wavelength. Growing up, they did everything together, including learning to become skilled vanship pilots. Somewhere through all this closeness, Lavie developed romantic feelings for Claus, but Claus always treated her as a sister. Although Lavie had always been brutally blunt and honest about everything else in her life, she always kept her romantic feelings private, however, everyone else can see she loves Claus. ;Alvis E. Hamilton The last survivor of the Hamilton family and unofficial Guild member, Al has been a target of interest to all that understood she was the living "key" to accessing the Exile arch-ship within the Grand Stream. Claus couldn't leave a young child behind in fear and vowed to look after her. Throughout the events of Last Exile, Claus had always come to her rescue and helped her whenever she was in need. After moving to Earth, the Guild returned again, but Claus came to her protection again. It was through Claus's self-less acts that Al started to see him as a romantic interest. ;Holly Mad-thane Claus first met Holly after taking a 3-star mission to deliver a message to her father, David Mad-thane. She wanted to deliver a personal message to her father and Claus agreed to help her deliver it. Claus would return optimistic news to Holly that her dad will return to her soon, but things changed afterwards. Because of the on-going war between Anatoray and Disith, Holly's family devoted their efforts to helping the wounded. After the events of Last Exile, Holly decided to stay with Claus, Lavie, and Al, and the four live together in their new home on Earth. Crew of the Silvana ;Alexander Row Captain of the Silvana, Alex was the one who originally attempted to fly through the Grand Stream with Hamilcar Valca (Claus's dad) and also the one who returned to give Claus and his mother the news of his demise. Because of the many years that had past since Claus had last seen Alex, he didn't remember nor recognize him as the pilot that flew with his dad. Alex had left his vanship behind to the Valca family, but Claus had mistaken it for his father's and maintained it for many years until the two were reunited on board the Silvana. Because Alex tends to be a intense and strict person, he's often difficult to approach and to speak with. However, after understanding more about Alex and the reasons behind his actions, Claus's anger gave him the courage to speak his mind against the infamous captain. ;Sophia Forrester Sophia is second in command of the Silvana and would later become the empress of the Anatoray-Disith Kingdom. Sophia is the only person to develop any sort of romantic relationship with Claus. In a moment of emotional weakness, Claus comforted Sophia after she was emotionally punished by Alex. To thank him in the way she could only think of, she gave Claus loving kiss, a kiss that Claus would never forget. Unknown to others, Claus developed a crush on Sophia, but she became the empress and he never pursued her and eventually left for Earth. ;Tatiana Wisla Lead vanship squad leader, she presented herself as a stiff and rude person around Claus. She often make impolite comments to Claus to remind him of his incompetence (due to lack of training). Through it all though, Claus was never angry with her and continued to be nice to her. After she had a emotional breakdown, it was Claus that help her recollect herself. After sharing emotions and life & death situations together, Tatiana eventually developed romantic feelings for Claus. Unfortunately, despite her blunt nature, her nervousness over him makes her timid over certain things. While she wants to have something more than a platonic relationship with Claus, she kept her feelings private, but it often confuses Claus as others are aware of it and he can't see past the hints. Pics Gallery Conceptual Art '''Spheres 1' Clausconcept05.JPG|Page 6 Clausconcept06.JPG|Page 7 Clausconcept07.JPG|Page 8 Clausconcept08.JPG|Page 9 Clausconcept09.JPG|Page 10 Clausconcept10.JPG|Page 11 Clausconcept11.JPG|Page 12 Clausconcept12.JPG|Page 13 Clausconcept13.JPG|Page 14 Spheres 2 Clausconcept006.jpg|Page 6 Clausconcept007.jpg|Page 7 Clauslavieconcept008.jpg|Page 8 Notes & Trivia Articles & References External Links Category:Characters Category:People of Anatoray Category:Silvana Crew Members Category:Last Exile Characters